Sign



T, R. WILLWERSCHEID 1,846,173

SIGN

Filed Feb. 11. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l STREET gawmto'a TIMOQOFR Wllvemcheid 1932. T. R. WILLWERSCHEID 1,346,173

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Filed Feb. 11. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WEE? W??? fig) Hg. (9'

The mar LWZZVVJChQZd Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGN Application filed February 11, 1927. Serial No. 167,465,

The present invention relates to a sign structure.

In the making of signs for highway markers it is desirable to have a sign which will I be readable by night as well as by day.

An object of the invention is to make a Sign having a portion thereof constructed 0 light-reflecting characters removably mounted over similar letters of a nonreflect- 10 ing character imprinted upon the body of the sign. Another object is to make a frame for sup porting light-reflecting sign characters in which the light-reflecting elements thereof 15 are removably supported in housing means carried upon the rear of said frame.

In order to attain these objects, there is provided, in accordance with one feature of the invention, a metal plate bearing sign indicia thereon and having a removable frame with H ght-refiecting sign indicia thereon correspondin to a portion of the sign indicia upon sai metal plate, the light-reflecting sign indicia being mounted upon said plate to cover and conceal the sign indicia on said plate which corresponds to said light-reflecting sign indicia.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully brought out in the following description and the accompanying drawin s, wherein:

igure 1 is a view in front elevation and vertical section, respectively, of a highway sign made in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1a is a vertical cross sectional view of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a view in rear elevation of the thereof being broken away to more fully disclose the structure thereof.

Figure 3 is a view in rear elevation of a light-reflecting element.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the elements forming the light-reflecting portions of the sign and the supporting frame portions associated therewith, the parts being separated to more fully illustrate their structure.

lightrcfiecting portion of said sign, portions Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the housing for the reflecting sign characters.

Figure 0 is a view in perspective of a member insertable within the housing shown in Figure 5, having the horizontal edges thereof bent over to grip a support for the reflect- 1n g element.

l igure 7 is a view in front elevation of the sign proper with the reflecting portion thereof removed; and

Figure 8 is a view in perspective showing the interior of a supportfor the reflecting element.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a metal plate A has imprinted or embossed thereon sign characters such as the word Stop in a central portion of the sign, while above and below those characters are imprinted minor characters such as the Words Thru and Street. A removable reflecting sign unit B is constructed of a size to completely cover the central portion of the sign, which, in the present instance, bears the word Stop imprinted thereon, said unit having reflecting sign letters thereon bearing the same sign indicia, namely the Word Stop in'light-re- 'llccting characters. A preferred construction for the unit bearing the light-reflecting characters, comprises a housing 1 having lettors 2 cut therein in the nature of a stencil. A plate 3 is of a size to be inscrtable within the housing 1, preferably of a size to have a tight, press fit therein, so that when once placed in position within the housing it will not readily become separated therefrom. The upper and lower horizontal edges 4 and 5 of the plate 3 are bent inwardly, the upper bent over edge portion 4 being preferably somewhat longer than the lower bent over edge portion. The plate 3 has characters 6 cut therein in the same manner as the housing but the letters in this plate are preferably somewhat-smaller in size than those out in the front plate and this plate 3 is of a different color from plate 1 so as to form a border, as at 7 (Figure 1), about the sign letters as brought out in my co-ponding application of even date herewith. A plurality of small housing 111 embers 8 are provided Within which reflecting units 9 may be inserted, one of these housings being in the present instance provided for each of the sign characters. The housing 8 for the reflecting units 9 are formed from a metal plate having the edges thereof bent downwardly in the form of a shallow box and having the upper and lower edges 10 and 11, respectively, bent upwardly and downwardly, respectively, to form flanges which are inserted beneath the bent over edges of the plate 3 to hold said housing members in sition against the rear face thereof.

11 assembling the sign, the plate 3 is preferably first inserted within the housing 1 to lie closely adjacent to the rear face of the front of the housing. Reflecting units 9 are then assembled with the required number of housin members 8 and the housing members are hooked into engagement with the bent over edges of the plate 3 by first inserting the upper flange 10 of the housing beneath the upper inwardly turned edge 4 of the plate 3 and raising the housing 10 upwardly. The lower flange 11 of the housing is then brought inwardly to lie closely adj acent the plate 3 and the housing permitted to drop so as to bring the lower flange 11 into locking engagement with the lower inwardly tu'rned edge 5 of the plate. Since the upper inwardly turned edge 4 of the plate 3 is longer than the lower inwardly turned edge thereof, the upper flange 10 of the housing member 8 will remain in engagement with the 11 per inwardly turned edge of the plate 3 ailer the lower flange 11 is resting upon the bottom of the inwardly turned lower edge 5. The entire assembly thus formed may be mounted u on the plateA by means of screws 12 inserted through the reflecting sign portion .thus formed and the plate A and securely held in position thereon by means of nuts, not shown, resting against the rear face of the plate A.

By means of this construction, should it become necessary to remove the reflecting element 9 for repair or replacement, the entire structure comprising the plates 1 and 3, reflecting units 9, and the members 8 may be removed to expose the word Stop on the plate A, so that the sign would still be operative as a non-reflecting sign and would bear the same indioia as when assembled with the reflecting units.

In carrying out my invention I preferably employ a reflector 9 having a series of triple reflecting units whose exterior and interior trihedral angles are congruent, this being an old form of reflector surface shown in the Ebeli'ng Design Patent #47384, issued May tending edge flanges 13 which fit within the supporting holders.

I claim:

1. In a sign of the character described, a supporting plate, a housing removably mounted on said plate, said housing having cut out sign characters therein, a second plate mounted within said housing and having cut- 2. A reflecting sign unit comprising a housing having cut out sign characters therein, a plate mounted within said housing and having cut-out sign characters therein corresponding to those in said housing; light reflecting means positioned in rear of said out out sign characters to be displayed therethrough, and retaining means shaped to enclose the rear portion of said reflecting means and having interlocking engagement with said plate to hold said retaining means and said reflecting units in position therein.

3. A light-reflecting sign unit comprising a housing having cut out sign characters therein, a plate insertable within said housing and having cut out sign letters therein to correspond with the out out sign letters in said housing, light reflecting sign units mounted in rear of said out out sign characters in both of said plates to be displayed therethrough, and retaining means shaped to enclose the rear of said reflecting. units and having removable interlocking connection with said plate to retain the reflecting units in position thereon.

4. A reflecting sign, comprising a base member, a plate overlapping said base member having cut-out letters therein to display the base member therethrou h, a second plate of a different color overlapping the first plate and having cut-out letters therein to register with the cut-out letters in said first plate, the cut-out letters in said second plate be- Ill ing larger than the cut-out letters in said first plate to display the edges of the letters of said first plate in the form of a border interiorly of the letters in said second plate. 5. In a reflect-ing sign, the combination with a reflecting surface, of means for blocking out portions ofthe reflecting surface to form a design, consisting of a plate overlying said reflecting surface and having cutout etters therein to display the reflectin surface therethrough, a second plate of dif ferent color overlying the said first late and having cut-out letters therein to reglster with the cut-out letters in said first plate, the cutout letters in said second plate being larger than the cut-out letters in said first plate to constitute a blocking out border for the reflecting surface interiorly of the letters in said second plate.

6. A composite sign of the character described, comprising a plate, a non-reflective sign character thereon, a housin adapted to cover and conceal said non-re ecting sign character, said housing bearing a si character similar to that on said plate an having cut-out openings therein defining said sign character on said housing, frangible reflecting members mounted 111 said openings to be visible therethrough, and mounting means adapted to removably secure said housing and the reflecting units carried thereby in position over the non-reflecting sign character on said plate to display a reflecting sign character when the housing is in position thereon and todisplay a non-reflecting similar sign character in the same line of vision as the reflecting sign character when the housing and its associated reflecting units are removed therefrom.

In testimony whereof I aflix m signature.

THEODOR' R. WILLWER CHEID, 

